Lewis Hamilton will be looking to start the 2017 season with a win at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton started the 2017 Formula 1 season on a brilliant note by notching the pole position for the year-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on Saturday. The triple world champion will start off the pole on Sunday after topping qualifying. Hamilton, in his Mercedes, clocked a record lap of one minute and 22.188 seconds to take his 62nd career pole and sixth in Australia into Sunday's race in Melbourne. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was second with Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas third.

Hamilton has been on pole in Melbourne in each of the last four seasons, and in five out the last six Australian GPs.

"Valtteri did a great job and it's great for us as Mercedes. It's going to be a tight race.

"Tomorrow is about putting all the work together and making sure I come back stronger than ever."

He was pushed in the final Q3 stage first by Bottas and then by Vettel before clinching the fastest lap.

"I lost a bit in turn one and in turn nine I tried a bit too much, but I don't think it would have been enough," said Vettel, who claimed Ferrari's first front row since 2015 in knocking Bottas out of second place.